Bachelor’s ‘bad guy’ girlfriend Anastasia Keramidas defends ‘real’ star and slams ‘toxic’ show for giving her a ‘bad edit’

BACHELOR contestant Anastasia Keramidas is “real” and not the villain she portrayed on the show, a friend has insisted to The US Sun in an exclusive interview.

In Monday night’s episode, the 30-year-old content marketing executive from San Diego, California, was accused by Bachelor co-stars of only attending the show to gain Instagram followers.

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Competitor Kylee Russell told Zach Shallcross, 26, about a conversation she had with Charity Lawson about Anastasia.

“Your head just goes in a completely different direction. She keeps talking about the amount of Instagram followers she’s going to get while she’s here,” Kylee summed up this season’s lead on a group date in the Bahamas.

That didn’t go smoothly for Zach.

He snapped, “This is freaking me out. That’s something I don’t stand for and I’m scared I’d end up with someone who was here for the wrong reasons, that’s not really not there to love me and have a future but really there, to become famous.”

After confronting Anastasia and taking his time to think about the next steps, he finally decided to send her home before the nightly rose ceremony.

COMING TO YOUR DEFENSE

Now one of Anastasia’s closest friends is defending the digital creator, saying she stopped seeking more followers.

“As a chef and blogger, Anastasia has been and still is a staple in the Baltimore hospitality industry. She didn’t need an extra following,” her close friend Nik Protopapas said in an exclusive interview with The US Sun before breaking up the season’s lead.

“She went to the show for an experience, for fun, and was open to all possibilities, but she definitely didn’t have to use the personification of custard, which is this season’s Bachelor, to win anything.”

He went on to share that Anastasia was “nominated by her friends” and claimed she “didn’t sign up.”

Anastasia’s friend has also criticized the producers for starting the drama and giving her the role of the villain.

“It’s really just the editing and the producers creating drama… It’s all for the show,” Nik added.

“The show itself is obviously a toxic and petty TV reality drama. People sign up for this show before they even find out who the bachelor is.”

He continued, “Anastasia is golden. She is very loved by me and her friends because she is so pretty and honestly she is a genuinely loving person.

“Anyone who has met her knows that she is a sweetheart and a very good person. She cares about people and is a naturally pure soul – beautiful inside and out.”

The proud pal is “extremely happy” that she has remained “very classy”. Regarding how Anastasia is taking on the edit, Nik shared that she’s “doing great”.

“She watched every episode with all her friends in different cities. She’s loved from coast to coast. Her family and friends are all very proud,” Nik told The US Sun.

NOT HERE FOR THE DRAMA

The rumor that Anastasia is on The Bachelor for the wrong reasons stems from a comment she made at the airport.

Charity heard her say, “The 14 of us who are here now will have at least 50,000 Instagram followers.”

The comment was relayed to Kylee, who then relayed it to Zach. He was “shocked” and called having someone on the show for fame his “nightmare”.

Anastasia tried to explain that it was “taken out of context,” telling Zach, “I’m here because I’m at a point in my life where I want to be with my partner and I want him to be mine best friend and I want to build a life.”

During a second heated conversation with Zach before he sent her home, she told him that her “character” and “integrity” were everything to her and that it was “annoying” that he had doubts about her.

Zach sent her home because he believed she had “ulterior motives.” He also sent Genevie Mayo and Davia Bunch home at the end of the February 13 episode.

The 11 remaining women continue their dates in London next Monday night’s episode.

ACTION TO THE MANUFACTURERS

This isn’t the first time ABC reality dating show producers have been called out to edit.

A source previously told The US Sun that producers need to get Zach to act “goofier and funnier” to make him more entertaining after he was dubbed by fans as the “most boring bachelor ever”.

“The producers make him seem more interesting than he really is. He’s a nice, genuine guy and a good person overall, but to be honest he’s just plain boring and boring,” the source said.

“You were very protective of him. They felt like they couldn’t give The Bachelor the villain role this season like they’ve done in previous seasons.”

Now that Anastasia is gone, fans think Kylee should be the next villain, especially since Zach gave her a rose.

One person tweeted: “Kylee will be the next villain this season #The bachelor.”

Another person wrote: “So far, Kylee is the villain here. I may have misjudged Anastasia in the previews… #The bachelor.”

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